Section 149 IPC - Liability of Every Member of Unlawful Assembly for Common Object Offence
Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 imposed liability on every person who was a member of the same unlawful assembly at the time an offence was committed when the offence fell within either of the two statutory limbs: it was committed in prosecution of the assembly's common object, or it was an offence the members knew to be likely to be committed in prosecution of that object.
Text of Section 149 IPC
149. Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object. If an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly in prosecution of the common object of that assembly, or such as the members of that assembly knew to be likely to be committed in prosecution of that object, every person who, at the time of the committing of that offence, is a member of the same assembly, is guilty of that offence.
Meaning and scope of Section 149 IPC
Section 149 links membership of an unlawful assembly with liability for an offence committed by a member of that assembly when the statutory relationship between the offence and the common object is established. The provision therefore has to be read with Sections 141 and 142 IPC, which define an unlawful assembly and membership of such an assembly.
The two limbs of Section 149
First limb: prosecution of common object
The offence is committed by a member of the unlawful assembly in prosecution of the common object of that assembly.
Second limb: offence known to be likely
The offence is of a kind that the members of the assembly knew to be likely to be committed in prosecution of the common object.
Essential requirements
- There must be an unlawful assembly within Section 141 IPC.
- An offence must be committed by a member of that unlawful assembly.
- The person sought to be made liable must have been a member of the same assembly at the time the offence was committed.
- The offence must either have been committed in prosecution of the common object, or be one which the members knew to be likely to be committed in prosecution of that object.
Common object under Sections 141 and 149
The expression "common object" connects Section 149 directly with the definition of unlawful assembly in Section 141. Section 141 specifies the objects that can make an assembly of five or more persons unlawful. Section 149 addresses liability for an offence committed by a member where the required statutory connection with that common object exists.
Membership at the time of the offence
Section 149 expressly refers to every person who, "at the time of the committing of that offence", is a member of the same assembly. Membership at the relevant time is therefore part of the statutory formulation. Section 142 explains when a person, with awareness of the facts rendering an assembly unlawful, intentionally joins or continues in it and is said to be a member.
Does Section 149 prescribe a separate punishment?
No fixed standalone sentence is prescribed by Section 149. The First Schedule to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 treated punishment under Section 149 as the same as for the underlying offence. Its procedural classification likewise depended on that offence.
| Section 149 procedural issue | Pre-BNSS CrPC position |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Same as for the underlying offence |
| Cognizable or non-cognizable | According as the underlying offence is cognizable or non-cognizable |
| Bailable or non-bailable | According as the underlying offence is bailable or non-bailable |
| Court competent to try | The Court by which the underlying offence is triable |
Section 149 and rioting
Sections 146 to 148 IPC concern rioting and armed rioting. Section 149 is broader in a different sense: its text addresses an offence committed by a member of an unlawful assembly where either statutory limb relating to the common object is satisfied. The punishment and procedural consequences then follow the offence for which liability is attracted.
Section 149 and individual participation
The wording of Section 149 makes membership of the same unlawful assembly at the relevant time and the statutory connection between the offence and the common object central to liability. The section states that, when its conditions are satisfied, every such member "is guilty of that offence".
Key point
Section 149 should not be treated as prescribing one universal punishment or one universal procedural classification. The underlying offence matters. The provision fixes liability when its common-object or knowledge-based requirements are met, while the punishment, cognizability, bailability and competent trial court follow the offence attributed through Section 149.